A freak shower in the world's driest desert has surprised scientists by waking up sleeping microbes - raising the hope that there could be life on Mars, Mirror reports.

The US team discovered incredibly hardy bacteria that can lie dormant in the soil for decades without a hint of water.

But when it unexpectedly rained in their habitat, the most arid corner of South America's Atacama desert, they bounced back into life.

Planetary scientist Dr Dirk Schulze-Makuch, from Washington State University, said: "It has always fascinated me to go to the places where people don't think anything could possibly survive and discover that life has somehow found a way to make it work.

"Jurassic Park references aside, our research tell us that if life can persist in Earth's driest environment there is a good chance it could be hanging in there on Mars in a similar fashion."

Microbes had been found in the desert before, but it was not clear if they were original residents or dying vestiges of life blown in by the wind.

Billions of years ago Mars had oceans and lakes where early life forms may have thrived. As the planet dried up and grew colder, the Martian bugs could have survived in much the same way as their Atacama counterparts, the scientists believe.